【Oh no! Murderous intent!】
Baji, who was training, suddenly rolled over, feeling a suffocating pressure like the coils of a python tightening around him.
He darted his gaze around—yet saw no enemy.
Until the second bedroom door creaked open.
Chen Huaian stepped out, silver needles in hand. His eyes swept the room and landed on Baji, who was crouched by the basin on the windowsill.
Now that the big black fish had been revived, Baji had returned to his perch by the window. After all, bathtubs were for bathing. Though Chen Huaian had at least swapped out the tub for a larger baby basin so the fish’s tail wouldn’t stick out.
“Baji, today I’ll grant you a great opportunity!”
Chen Huaian approached with a kind smile.
But to Baji, that “kind smile” was more terrifying than Xing Tian’s rampage.
【It’s over! Giving me an opportunity!? Has he recovered his memories and now intends to kill me?】
Every strand of Baji’s fur stood on end. He turned and bolted.
With his current strength, he couldn’t break through the talisman-sealed windows or doors, so he could only run for cover.
Baji fled; Chen Huaian pursued.
The living room instantly descended into chaos.
Chen Huaian crawled under the table, lunged over the coffee table, and after several desperate grabs, finally cornered Baji.
“Strange… Baji is usually so obedient, letting me hold him and pet him. Why’s he so scared today?” Chen Huaian caught his breath, brow furrowing at the trembling ball of fur curled before him.
Then he recalled Lin Lingling, who had just moved in. Instantly, it clicked.
Cats were territorial and highly sensitive animals.
They judged everything—big or small—as a kind of “cat,” and mainly distinguished friend from foe by scent. For a stray like Baji, an unfamiliar smell meant wariness.
Stress.
“Don’t be afraid, Baji. Even if you get crippled, I’ll raise you for life, feed you the best cat food, and even find you a pretty calico wife.” Chen Huaian crouched low, his dark shadow looming over Baji, whispering promises that only deepened the cat’s despair.
【So this is my fate?】
Baji’s eyes filled with sorrow.
In that turbulent era, it had been captured and enslaved by the Celestial Clan to guard Xing Tian’s severed head. After the great catastrophe, it had gone into forced slumber to survive—but at least it gained freedom. Now, barely awakened, it was once again staring down captivity.
Was it doomed to forever be nothing more than a watchdog?
【No! I won’t submit so easily!】
【At worst—I’ll fight to the death!】
Baji locked his gaze onto Chen Huaian’s outstretched left hand, red light flashing in his eyes as he arched his back, ready to pounce.
But the next instant, a numbness shot through the scruff of his neck.
His body froze.
“Hah, lure east then strike west,” Chen Huaian grinned, lifting the black cat effortlessly. He had first baited with his left hand, then seized the chance to snatch Baji by the scruff with his right, securing control.
On a larger cat, this move might not work.
But on a small one like Baji—it was always foolproof.
【Damn this frail body!】
【Move, you beast, move!】
Baji struggled fiercely, but his claws only scraped the air. His whole body was as stiff as if encased in ice.
“Ou! Ou!”
Chen Huaian froze, startled by the sound. He lifted Baji up and studied him.
Those terrified eyes, paired with that strange cry, amused him.
“Well well, Baji, you can bark like a dog? No—more like a wolf!”
He placed Baji on the sofa.
To keep him still during the acupuncture, he kept his right hand pinching the scruff. With his left, he deftly unhooked the needle case, fingers lightly plucking out a gleaming silver needle.
“Don’t worry, it’s quick. Who knows—you might become a super cat. Later, I’ll record a video of you doing backflips and barking like a dog. If you go viral, you can earn your own cat food.”
Backflips?
Bark like a dog!?
Baji’s eyes burned with humiliation.
It was the ancient ferocious beast Taotie!
The Celestial Clan had subdued it to guard Xing Tian’s head.
Even if it had endured that grievance, it still had its pride.
But now, this human actually wanted it to perform such degrading tricks?
It opened its mouth to roar—but before a sound escaped, Chen Huaian’s needle, swift as lightning, pierced in.
Even when he let go of its scruff, Baji found it impossible to move—not even his eyelids could twitch.
“Hehe, Xiu Mao, if my acupuncture is flawless, you’ll thank me later.” Chen Huaian’s lips curved into a confident smile. As Baji’s meridians surfaced before him, his eyes blazed with golden radiance.
Meeting that gaze, Baji’s mind went blank.
In Chen Huaian’s figure, he saw overlapping silhouettes—Fuxi, Wu Peng, Shennong… The ancient sages merged with him, as though it were they holding the needles, not Chen Huaian.
Frozen as he was, even if he could move, he wouldn’t dare.
“This… this is truly a divine-level meridian-opening technique!”
Chen Huaian’s hands flew like butterflies, needles flashing. His thoughts were crystalline, guided as though by the heavens themselves.
This time, treating Baji, his comprehension was leagues beyond before.
First, he controlled force and timing with perfect precision.
Second, he could now predict exactly what each needle would do.
Third, he saw through all of Baji’s hidden problems.
One detail was especially strange.
Baji always walked with a limp—
But his legs were fine.
A neurological issue?
Easily handled. A matter of acupuncture.
For meridian-opening acupuncture, correcting a neurological disorder wasn’t much trouble.
But nerves were complex—this would require over a hundred needles, and the pain would be intense. Hopefully Baji could endure it.
As the thought formed—
His hands blurred into motion.
A row of silver needles sank into Baji’s forehead.
“AAAAAHHHHHH!!!!”
creak—
The master bedroom door eased open a crack.
Lin Lingling peeked out cautiously.
She had been cultivating when a series of heart-wrenching howls pierced the air—pitiful and mournful. Though wary of something strange, her assignment was to observe Chen Huaian. Gritting her teeth, she stepped out.
And froze.
What she saw made her eyes go wide.
Chen Huaian sat on the sofa, acupuncturing the black cat demon with his set of silver needles.
Acupuncture itself wasn’t unusual.
But his speed—his hands flitted so fast they blurred, like butterflies dancing. Even with her keen vision, she couldn’t follow.
Lin Lingling had already opened her Ren and Du meridians, her strength greatly enhanced, her reflexes far beyond ordinary humans. If she entered the Olympics now, she’d shatter world records.
Yet even she couldn’t keep up with Chen Huaian’s speed.
“The Qilin Arm?”
Lin Lingling blurted out in awe.
So this master… must have exceptionally strong kidneys.
It wasn’t just the speed. Chen Huaian’s entire presence was transformed.
A faint divine light glowed in his eyes, his aura utterly changed. No longer that slippery, lecherous monk—
Now he radiated the bearing of a true master physician.
But… why was he acupuncturing the cat demon?
To heal it? But the cat demon wasn’t injured. It was only pretending to limp. She had seen it dart around the living room more than once.
It was faking in front of Chen Huaian.
Then… was he strengthening it?
Lin Lingling pursed her lips, holding her breath as she continued to watch in silence.
A sudden thought struck her.
Could it be… this cat demon was Chen Huaian’s spiritual beast?
